Red Hat attacks 'patent trolls'

Linux outfit Red Hat has filed a petition in the US Supreme Court seeking to outlaw software patents.

Red Hat, which modestly describes itself as the worlds leading provider of open source software and related services to enterprise customers. says the practice of registering software patents stifles the industry and leaves developers open to exploitation.

"Red Hat continues its commitment to the free and open-source software community by taking a strong position against bad software patents," says Red Hat veep Rob Tiller. "Our patent system is supposed to foster innovation but, for open source and software in general, it does the opposite."

Red Hat accuses what it describes as patent trolls of exploiting the legal system and of filing lawsuits that seek to exploit what it describes as the confusion resulting from hundreds of thousands of vague and nebulous technology patents for financial gain.